Turbo torture

Winter may have kept me from playing in the traffic this last weekend but I still did some training. I'm beginning to understand the psychological pain of working out on a turbo trainer. For those not in the know a turbo trainer is a device that accepts your normal bike and lets you ride as if you were on the road. Some really sophisticated devices have connections to computers that lets you watch your own virtual performance on mock climbs in France and the like. The one I'm using doesn't have that but you can change the resistance on the wheel to make it more like an actual ride up and down hills. And, except for the fact you can't freewheel for any great length of time (less than 10 seconds), it's pretty good.
What isn't good is the boredom factor. I have set it up in my porch with a view down the street. I can now categorically say that my street must be the quietest in the world. Nothing happens! At least when I pedal around the countryside there are ever changing views, inquisitive cows, drivers to shout at and of course the occasional human being to talk to. Not so in the porch.
I was warned about the dullness by other people and through internet searches. But there doesn't seem to be any alternative. You want to ride your own bike as it is best for your body to get used to that position and that machine. It helps keep the bike ticking over as well. Playing music helps but somehow it isn't right. Music shouldn't be available as I ride and somehow it is slightly intrusive, not natural.
The training is governed by time and pain. In the absence of anything to look at, I find myself at the mercy of the training pattern. Believe me riding on a turbo trainer for any length of time at a steady pace is the worst thing you can do. So we break down the time into intervals of different riding, large resistance with a slow cadence to simulate hills, lower resistances with a spinning cadence to simulate the flat or downhill sections. All this and all you can really do is wait for the current interval to be over. Because you aren't going anywhere the easiest pattern is determined by time. Now this might be a mistake, because on a real bike it doesn't work like that. Generally speaking you can try to go faster to get it over with, or you can slow down and accept it will go on a little longer but the with a little less effort. Not so with time-based interval training. Not only have you set a time goal but I usually set a cadence goal as well. And that hurts.
On the plus side it is nice to ride your own bike and the turbo trainer gives a slightly better ride than either the exercise bikes or the spin bikes at the gym but at least at there something will be happening.
And we won't talk (this time) about the condensation and the sweat. I think I need a fan.
We will touch on the fact that on Sunday I managed to climb, spin and sprint my way along for an hour or so, and if you include the 20 minutes I warmed up for by spinning the cranks in a similar way to what I do on a longer road ride, then I managed 25 miles without going anywhere. And without wind resistance which is a benefit I must admit. Honours even I think.
I will come back to the topic of turbo training. Hopefully with some constructive programs and tips gleaned from my own experience. But probably more tales of pain, suffering and boredom.